mission
pateldanceworks (PDW) is directed by Bhumi B Patel, a queer, desi, home-seeker, science fiction choreographer, movement artist and writer. In its purest form, PDW collaborators create performance works as love letters to our ancestors. PDW moves at the intersection embodied research and generating new futures, using improvisational practice as a pursuit for liberation.
values
PDW works improvisationally on and off the stage to dream a more liberated future. At the center of PDW's work are the following values:
Liberation and Equity | We believe no one is free until we are all free.
Right Relationship | “Liberated relationships are one of the ways we actually create abundant justice, the understanding that there is enough attention, care, resource, and connection for all of us to access belonging, to be in our dignity, and to be safe in community” - adrienne maree brown
Bodily Knowledge | We value the knowledge and embodied expression of all bodies.
Dialogue and Communication | We engaged with open communication to grow and develop our relationships to build inclusive and resilient communities.
In addition, we believe the following statements are Not Up for Debate (adopted from Dancing Around Race):
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That White Supremacy exists as a system that hurts us all and disproportionately hurts people of color.
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That White people have a responsibility to dismantle White Supremacy.
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That Racism + Colonialism are linked, and so Racial Justice + Decolonization are also linked.
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It’s not if Racism, Colonialism and White Supremacy exist in our community and nation, it’s HOW we intend to address and fix it.
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That systems of oppression exist as one overarching matrix of domination. Oppressions intersect and are interlocking.
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People experience and resist oppression on a personal, communal, and institutional level.
